


pearl interacts with an infant

by yolk_sac



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Gem Egg Hell, Gemlings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-24 11:22:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13212693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yolk_sac/pseuds/yolk_sac
Summary: pearl doesnt really like said infant





	pearl interacts with an infant

**Author's Note:**

> this is old

It had been five days since Peridot's babies were born. Not yet a week, but for Peridot, it felt like much longer. She hadn't slept for more than thirty minutes at a time since they took their first breaths. Their feeding schedules were rigid – a single missed feed could prove fatal for such young gemlings. It took constant effort to make sure all eight were adequately fed. 

Pearl watched Peridot attend to her newborns from across the room. She was always at Peridot's side in her late stages of pregnancy. She assisted her in giving birth. She cared for her when she was too sore and tired to care for herself postpartum. However, she wanted nothing to do with her babies. So, in her ambivalence, she watched from afar.

“Pearl? Can you come here?” Peridot called to her.

Pearl huffed. She knew what was coming. Peridot could only feed two babies at a time. In their first day of life, she didn't sleep a wink. Steven yearned to help her. So, with some assistance from Greg, he bought her a breast pump. When Peridot wasn't feeding a baby, she was hooked up to this machine like some sort of dairy animal. To Pearl, the whole thing seemed demeaning, but Peridot didn't seem to mind. She'd bottle her milk and stash it in the fridge for when she needed a little help from others to get all the babies fed. Now it was Pearl's turn for a feeding shift.

“She still needs to be fed but I'm so tired I can barely hold my head up,” Peridot said while gesturing to one of her hatchlings. It was a jasper, with two bold stripes on the right side of its face. To Pearl, they all looked the same, but Peridot was able to differentiate them with ease. “Can you please take care of her for me?”

She inspected the jasper gemling. It certainly did not look like any jasper she knew. It was orange, it had a jasper's gem, but it was small enough to be lifted with only three fingers. It looked somewhat fetal in appearance, its skin so thin it was nearly translucent. She was almost afraid to touch it, lest she injure it. Still, she picked it up and cradled it awkwardly in the nook of her arm. “Sure. Have a good rest.”

-

Pearl carried the gemling downstairs to retrieve its bottle from the fridge. “Hello. I'm here to feed you while your mother sleeps. I don't particularly want to, but for her sake, I will.” She spoke to it as if it could understand her. After warming the bottle, Pearl sat neatly on the sofa with the gemling in her lap. She lifted the bottle and pointed it in the direction of the baby. To her surprise, it seemed to know where the rubber nipple was, and immediately latched on.

Pearl couldn't stop remarking on how ugly this creature was: its ears were formless and hung limp from its skull, much like a lop rabbit. Its eyes were large and bulbous, and it couldn't seem to open them. The only facial feature that seemed to work was its mouth, and it worked quite well when it came to feeding – still, it had no teeth, and it couldn't talk. In her opinion it was disgusting, barely a gem, and she wished she didn't have to hold it. She would have nothing to do with them if it weren't for her feelings for Peridot. She liked her too much to disregard her needs.

She wished she wasn't so put off by these gemlings. In ancient times, a pearl's duty was midwifery, just as a peridot's duty was to beget the next generation. But these were not ancient times, despite the fecundity of the peridot napping across the room. Pearl never liked babies, especially not after what she went through with Rose. Seeing them dredged up conflicting feelings, but she'd never admit it to Peridot. She loved her babies more than anything in the world, and knowing her very own midwife was revulsed by them would certainly break her heart. 

Pearl decided to strike up conversation with the baby as it fed. She needed a distraction to stop dwelling on her feelings. “Your markings look just like your sire,” Pearl told the gemling. “You have the same stripes.” It didn't react. She continued to speak. “Maybe one day you'll be big like her, and you'll be able to feed yourself. 

“Can you even hear me with those malformed ears? God knows you can't see me,” Pearl sighed as she watched the baby continue to suckle, so oblivious to her discontent. She looked at its hands; each of its little fingers had a perfectly formed claw at the end. This came as a surprise to her; she never realized that a tiny baby gem would have tiny baby claws. Curiosity got the better of her. She touched one of the gemling's fingers with her own. It reacted by splaying its fingers, the first response it gave her since it started feeding. Again, she touched it, this time on its newly open palm. Once more it reacted, this time closing its fist on her finger like a vice grip.

“Goodness,” Pearl exclaimed in surprise. She didn't realize such a small being could be so strong! Pearl tried to retract her finger, but the little jasper wouldn't relinquish its grip. “Please let go of me,” she asked.

The baby didn't comply.

Pearl started to panic. She didn't want to force its hand open, lest she somehow tear its fragile skin or break its tiny bones. It couldn't be reasoned with, and she couldn't use brute force, so the only thing she could think to do was to wake Peridot and have her remove it.

She approached Peridot's nest, carefully cupping the baby in one hand as it gripped her opposite. The mother gem was sound asleep, her body curled around the other seven babies in her nest. She looked so peaceful sleeping there. Pearl watched her chest rise and fall with each shallow breath and reminisced on when she first started living with them. She was four months pregnant, injured, and scared out her mind. She was so afraid of being hurt by their hand. Now, she trusted them enough to watch her babies while she slept.

Pearl's opinion of her changed over the course of the year, too. The gems had only formally met her twice before allowing her into their home: both times, she had tried to kill them. Still, Steven wanted to help her. Pearl was contemptuous. She watched over her like a hawk, making sure she wasn't still aligned with Homeworld. Peridot was good, though, and Pearl lowered her guard in time. She bonded with her by sharing her knowledge of the ancient ways – Peridot was enthralled to learn about her condition, and Pearl was always happy to teach.

She didn't like to admit it to herself, but Pearl had developed an inclination for her. Something about the young gem captivated her. She was loyal and intelligent and able to keep her head high even in the face of adversity. Her fortitude was admirable, and she was terribly cute, too.   
What would she think of her, unable to handle a baby for fifteen minutes? Peridot had no choice. She didn't have the option to pawn them off on somebody else when she became uncomfortable. She sacrificed so much of her life for them. Pearl looked down at the gemling in her hand, still holding onto her finger with its steadfast grip. 

She could deal with it.


End file.
